Willie Thrasher

Last updated
Willie Thrasher
Willie Thrasher au La Sala Rossa.jpg
Willie Thrasher photographed in Montréal , Québec , Canada at La Sala Rossa.
Born1948
Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
OccupationMusician
Years active1960s – present

Willie Thrasher (born 1948) is a Canadian Inuvialuk musician from Aklavik, Northwest Territories. [1] He has recorded both as a solo artist, and as a member of several bands, including The Cordells, and Red Cedar, with Morley Loon. Thrasher has advocated for Inuit and First Nations issues for much of his career.

Contents

Early life

Thrasher was born in 1948, [2] in Aklavik. He was born into the traditional Inuit hunting culture of the western Arctic; his father was a whaler and hunter. At age five, he was removed from his family and placed in the Canadian government's residential school system. In Aklavik, he attended the Immaculate Conception and Grollier Hall Residential Schools until he was sixteen., [3] where he learned to play drums on a kit in the gym. [2] After leaving school, he worked as a forest firefighter in Whitehorse, and began playing in rock groups. [4] A fan of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Thrasher formed a band called the Cordells with his brother and friends. [2]

Music career

The Cordells toured northern Canada in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing schools and community halls. Based out of Inuvik, they were considered the town's first rock and roll band, and played mostly contemporary songs and covers. [5] After a show in the mid-1970s, Thrasher was approached by an elderly man and challenged as to why he didn't play music that reflected his Inuit heritage. [5] From that point, Thrasher moved into more personal songwriting and began studying Inuit music. [5]

After this change in style, Thrasher joined popular artists such as Buffy Sainte-Marie and Willie Dunn (Mi'kmaq descent) in exploring Indigenous topics in the mid-1970s, and speaking out on political issues. [6] Thrasher toured heavily in this period, and suffered from alcoholism. [4] In the early 1980s, Thrasher made two recordings with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Northern Service: Spirit Child, a full-length studio album of original songs, and Sweet Grass, a live recording in Val-d'Or, Quebec, with fellow First Nations musicians Willy Mitchell, Morley Loon, and Roger House. [7]

Thrasher joined Morley Loon as part of his Vancouver-based Red Cedar group in the 1980s. In 1990, Thrasher participated in the Odeyak expedition, where Cree and Inuit leaders paddled from Quebec to New York City. [3] A song composed by Thrasher was performed in Times Square by the group. [8] In 1998, Thrasher performed as part of a revival of traditional potlach ceremonies organised by Commissioner of the Yukon Judy Gingell in Whitehorse. [9]

His songs "Spirit Child", "Old Man Carver" and "We Got to Take You Higher" are featured on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Vol. 1 . [10] As a result of the revived publicity from the Native North America compilation, Thrasher has undertaken more extensive touring, including festival dates in Austin, Texas and the Northwest Territories, [1] and his 1981 album Spirit Child was reissued in October 2015 on Light in the Attic Records. [11] Thrasher currently lives on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. [4]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Aglukark</span> Canadian singer

Susan Aglukark,, is a Canadian singer whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting has made her a major recording star in Canada. Her most successful song/single is "O Siem", which reached No. 1 on the Canadian country and adult contemporary charts in 1995. Overall, she has released seven studio albums and has won three Juno Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous music of Canada</span> Music genre

Indigenous music of Canada encompasses a wide variety of musical genres created by Aboriginal Canadians. Before European settlers came to what is now Canada, the region was occupied by many First Nations, including the West Coast Salish and Haida, the centrally located Iroquois, Blackfoot and Huron, the Dene to the North, and the Innu and Mi'kmaq in the East and the Cree in the North. Each of the indigenous communities had their own unique musical traditions. Chanting – singing is widely popular and most use a variety of musical instruments.

Linda McRae is a Canadian folk-roots-Americana musician. A multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, she is a former member of Spirit of the West. She has released five albums, Flying Jenny, Cryin’ Out Loud,Carve It to the Heart,Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts and her most recent release, a career retrospective entitled 50 Shades of Red.

Eric Schweig is a Canadian Inuvialuk actor best known for his role as Chingachgook's son Uncas in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBC North</span> Radio and television services in Canada

CBC North is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television service for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon of Northern Canada as well as Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Dunn</span> Canadian politician, writer, filmmaker, and musician

William Lawrence Dunn was a Canadian singer-songwriter, film director and politician. Born in Montreal, he was of mixed Mi'kmaq and Scottish/Irish background. Dunn often highlighted indigenous issues in his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Doucet</span> Musical artist

Luke Doucet is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse.

The Ontario Parliament Network is a television channel in the Canadian province of Ontario, established in 1986 to broadcast the parliamentary proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It is available on all cable television providers in Ontario, as well as by webcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Martin (musician)</span> Canadian musician and politician

Lawrence Martin is a Canadian musician and politician. He has used the name Wapistan, derived from the Cree language word for the marten, in his musical work.

Music of Canadian Cultures is a wide and diverse accumulation of music from many different individual communities all across Canada. With Canada being vast in size, the country throughout its history has had regional music scenes. The music of Canada has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. First Nations people, the French, the British, the United States and many others nationalities have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous Canadian personalities</span> Individual Indigenous Canadians

Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture. The Indspire Awards are the annual awards presented by Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. The awards were first established in 1993 in conjunction with the United Nations declaring the 1990s "International Decade of the World's Indigenous peoples". June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day, in recognition of the cultural contributions made by Canada's indigenous population. The day was first celebrated in 1996 following Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc's proclamation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of articles related to Indigenous Canadians</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Indigenous peoples in Canada, comprising the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Morley Loon (1948–1986) was a Canadian First Nations musician, from Mistissini, Quebec. Loon played in several groups, including Red Cedar and Kashtin, but was mostly known for his solo work. He mostly wrote and performed in the Cree language, and was a prominent activist for First Nations issues.

Willy Mitchell is a Canadian First Nations musician. Mitchell recorded and toured mostly in the 1970s with his Desert River Band. He co-organized the 1980 Sweet Grass festival in Val-d'Or, Quebec, which gathered Inuit and First Nations musicians from across Canada.

<i>Native North America, Vol. 1</i> 2014 compilation album by Various artists

Native North America, Vol. 1: Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966–1985 is a compilation album, released in 2014 on Light in the Attic Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alethea Arnaquq-Baril</span> Canadian Inuk filmmaker

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuk filmmaker, known for her work on Inuit life and culture. She is the owner of Unikkaat Studios, a production company in Iqaluit, which produces Inuktitut films. She was awarded the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross, in 2017 in recognition of her work as an activist and filmmaker. She currently works part-time at the Qanak Collective, a social project which supports Inuit empowerment initiatives.

<i>Searchers</i> (film) 2016 Canadian film

Searchers is a 2016 Inuktitut-language Canadian drama film directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based in part on the 1956 John Ford film The Searchers, the film is set in Northern Canada in 1913. It centres on Kuanana, a man who returns from hunting to discover that much of his family has been killed and his wife and daughter have been kidnapped.

Abraham Anghik Ruben is an Inuvialuit Canadian sculptor of Yup'ik descent. Ruben was born south of the hamlet of Paulatuk in the Inuvik Region east of the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories, Canada in 1951.

References

  1. 1 2 "On the Road Again: Willie Thrasher's Second Life". The Tyee , May 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (November 14, 2014). "Forgotten legends of Native American music". Financial Times.
  3. 1 2 Kolausok, Edward Dean (January 2009). "Inuvialuit recording artist releases 4th compilation". Native Journal.
  4. 1 2 3 Conner, Shawn (November 21, 2014). "Groundbreaking First Nations artists get their due on new compilation". Vancouver Sun.
  5. 1 2 3 Varty, Alexander (November 5, 2014). "Native North America unearths a treasure trove of old First Nations gold". Georgia Straight.
  6. ↑ Beavon, Daniel J K; Newhouse, David R; Voyageur, Cora Jane (2005). Hidden in plain sight : contributions of aboriginal peoples to Canadian identity and culture Vol. 1. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. p. 389. ISBN   9780802085818.
  7. ↑ Wright-McLeod, Bryan (2005). The encyclopedia of native music : more than a century of recordings from wax cylinder to the Internet . Tucson: University of Arizona Press. p.  233. ISBN   9780816524471. willie thrasher.
  8. ↑ Posluns, Michael (1993). Voices for the Odeyak. Toronto, Ontario: New Canada Publications. p. 40. ISBN   9781550210705.
  9. ↑ Nuttall, Mark (2005). Encyclopedia of the Arctic. New York: Routledge. p. 1337. ISBN   9781579584368.
  10. ↑ "Light in the Attic Unearths the Forgotten History of First Nations Music with 'Native North America' Compilation". Exclaim! , October 8, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Willie Thrasher is ready for his closeup, again". The Globe and Mail , October 28, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.